Welcome to the Biological Chemistry Graduate Program at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. While part of the larger Johns Hopkins University, we are a small program that offers a personal, collegial and collaborative environment built on dynamic interactions between students and faculty.
Knowledge for the World
Johns Hopkins University is committed to an international scope and reach. Consistent with this mission, the GPBC program recruits students from around the globe, maintains a diverse student body, and is committed to open publication of its discoveries.
Excellent Training, Outstanding Careers
Our students graduate promptly (with a time to degree of 5-6 years) and have an unparalleled record of career success. Although our primary mission is to train the next generation of independent research scientists, we support the career goals of our students, whatever they may be. Career tracking of our graduates shows that:
- 40% of our graduates hold tenure-track or equivalent positions
- 40% of our graduates hold other research positions in biotech, pharma, etc.
- 20% achieve success in other career paths, including science consulting,biotech/pharma management, science administration, policy, publishing, etc.
- 97% of our graduates are in jobs that require a doctoral degree
Diverse Opportunities
The GPBC offers our students exciting research training opportunities that reflect the breadth of modern biochemistry, including:
- metabolism & bioenergetics
- miRNA biogenesis & function
- host-pathogen interactions
- bacterial cell biology & cell division
- neurobiology & neuronal dysfunction
- mass spectrometry of proteins & metabolites
- signaling & gene expression
- immunology
- cancer
- cytoplasmic glycosylation & stress responses
- nuclear structure & gene regulation
- cell polarity & migration
- lipid metabolism & enzymology
- pain & inflammation
- exosome biology and exosome-based therapeutics
A Tradition of Excellence
Our current research programs continue a tradition of research excellence that
stretches from 1908 to the present and includes numerous landmark discoveries, including:
- mitochondrial ATP production (Lehninger)
- mechanisms of enzyme catalysis (Hellerman)
- enzymatic carboxylation (Lane)
- tau & neurodegeneration (Cleveland)
- cytoplasmic protein glycosylation (Hart)
- water channels, for which Peter Agre received the 2003 Nobel Prize
- HIF-1a & oxygen sensing, for which Gregg Semenza received the 2019 Nobel Prize
- TRP channels in sensory biology (Montell, Caterina)
- ……..and many other breakthroughs